


An Answered Prayer

by oneshotsbygabby



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Families of Choice, Family Feels, Family Reunions, Fluff, Grief/Mourning, Happy Ending, Light Angst, Minor T'Challa/Ororo Munroe, Moving On, Reader-Insert, Surprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:28:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27890773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oneshotsbygabby/pseuds/oneshotsbygabby
Summary: Your husband had been deemed missing in action almost three-and-a-half years ago. You had stopped hoping for a while, but that's when Charles gives you a surprise -- on your son's third birthday.
Relationships: James Proudstar/Reader
Kudos: 3





	An Answered Prayer

**Author's Note:**

> I am not so good with Warpath. This is based on a reader request I got on my blog: Please do an X Men imagine where James Proudstar reunites with his three-year-old son, Kanga, who is also Native American like his daddy!
> 
> Now, I don't know much about Warpath. He wasn't in X-Men (movies) very long and, while I do know a little bit of info from the comics, I don't know much. So I'm sorry if this seems out of character for any of them. But I hope you like it anyway!

When James had left, he had hugged and kissed you and told you he’d be back soon.

 _Just a routine X-Men mission_ , he’d told you, leaving a kiss on your lips. _I’ll be back in plenty of time to see him. My son being born._

That was three-and-a-half years ago.

The thing about him, about James, was that he always did what he needed to do. Xavier needed him, and he was there for him.

Sometimes you hated him for it. You had loved James; hell, you still loved him. You wanted nothing more than for him to be with you. And Kanga -- his son. He didn’t know James, he’d never met him, but he was the _spitting image_ of him.

He looked like his mini-me.

You knew that he was probably dead. You’d known that much for years. At first, you held out hope because you wanted him to be alive. You _needed_ him to be. After John died, James was all alone.

And now you were all alone. Other than your son.

Kanga was turning three in a couple of days. After James had disappeared, the X-Men had offered you food and shelter, but you didn’t want to take anything from them. You didn’t want to be a part of the very thing that had taken your husband away, the thing that made your son fatherless.

You were still close to a couple of them, however. Marie was someone you’d learned early on that you could depend on. Even with her codename, Rogue, and the fact that you couldn’t actually touch her skin, she had become one of the best friends you’d ever had. Along with her came Remy -- and you still weren’t 100% convinced that the two of them didn’t have a thing going on. They came over; Marie often kept you company while Remy would play with your son.

“What do you want for your birthday?” Marie had asked Kanga last week, while the four of you were watching television. He looked at her seriously with those big brown eyes of his.

The ones he inherited from his daddy.

“I want my daddy to come home.”

The tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Your heart clenched at his admission; the one thing Kanga wanted, the one thing he’d _always_ wanted, and you couldn’t even give it to him.

“If there were a way for your daddy to be here,” Remy had told him, in that thick Cajun accent of his, “I’m sure he would tear the world apart to do it. He never would have left you on purpose.”

You had become so overcome with emotion that you just had to step away.

James was your husband; he was your life, your other half. You had grown up with James; the two of you knew real loss and had become close right after he needed someone after his brother had died. His brother had died on a fucking X-Men mission, so you couldn’t understand how James could trust them so willingly. But he did.

“You alright, sugar?”

You heard the voice before even realizing that there was anybody in the room with you. You look back and see Marie standing there, at a reasonable distance. She’s still wearing her gloves, has most of her body covered like she always did, but, walking up to you, she hugs you.

“I miss him, Marie,” you murmur. “I miss him so much.”

She nods and says, “I know, sugar. I know.”

***

The day before Kanga’s party, which was being held at the Xavier School, you went over to the school to talk to them, with your son in tow. Professor X wasn’t there; you weren’t exactly sure _what_ he was doing. Three years ago, you had been so overcome with grief that you didn’t want anything to do with any of them -- not even Xavier. It had taken a long time to come around and start treating them like family again.

Because, in the end, that’s what they were. James’ family.

“It’s good to see you, Mrs. Proudstar,” Hank greeted you. You’d always liked Hank McCoy -- he was friendly, he was smart, and he wanted mutants to have a better future -- just like everybody should be entitled to. He was always kind to your husband, and he always treated both you and your son with respect.

“Hey, Hank,” you smile at him. Kanga always smiles brightly whenever he sees Hank, and today he goes running up to hug him.

“Hey there, bud,” Hank greets your son. “How are you?”

“Tomorrow’s my birthday,” he says proudly. Hank nods.

“I know,” he grins at him. “We’re giving you a party. It’s going to be awesome.”

“Where’s Charles?” you ask Hank. “Is he here?”

Hank shakes his head, “I’m not exactly sure where he is. But if you want to talk party planning, that’s Jean and Ororo’s responsibility.”

You nod.

You look at Kanga, “You stay here, okay, baby? I’m going to go talk to them about your party.”

Kanga smiled and nodded, saying, “Yay!”

He always enjoyed spending time with Hank. He loved the way Hank always treated him kindly and he loved listening to Hank explain things. Hank was a grown man, but he didn’t treat Kanga like a miniature adult, like many of the mutants did -- he really cared about him and loved him, and you could tell.

When you enter Jean’s room, you see her and Ororo talking. They look at you and smile.

“It’s good to see you, Y/N,” Jean greets you cordially. Ororo smiles at you.

“Tomorrow’s the third birthday,” Ororo states. You nod.

“I just wish James were here to see it,” you murmur. You don’t expect either of the women to hear you, as you said it very lightly, but they both nod at you.

“I know you lost a lot, losing him,” Jean says quietly. She comes over to hug you. “I’m sorry that that mission went so badly.”

You shrug; you don’t want them seeing how much it hurt to see Kanga celebrate another birthday without his dad being there. You had to work through the grief and anger after losing James, but it still haunts you, having to take care of Kanga all alone.

“I miss him,” you admit. You can see Ororo nod; you know it’s not the same, but she has to go months at a time without seeing her husband, who is not just a superhero but the fucking _king of Wakanda_ , and he has responsibilities. Even though you lost James, you knew that she has a lot to deal with as well, having to be away from T’Challa as much as she is.

In the beginning, you had been angry at everyone. Angry at the X-Men, angry at God, even angry at James. When Ororo would say things about missing T’Challa, you didn’t want to hear about it because you were just so upset about not being able to see James. Not being able to touch him, to kiss him, to love him.

Now you understand that everybody’s had problems. It wasn’t just you, even though you still missed James as much today as you did three years ago.

“We’re going to give Kanga the best birthday party we can,” Ororo says to you kindly. “You two are family, and we will treat you as such.”

***

The party went off without a hitch the next day. There was a huge cake, made by a friend of Charles’, and they had games and a fun time for your son. Seeing this made your heart sing.

“The best part of the day is coming up, sugar,” Remy says to you while you’re watching Kanga blow out his candles. “There’s something coming up especially for you, especially for your boy.”

You eye him carefully before asking, “What’s going on?”

He smirks at you, “You’ll see.”

Charles told Kanga to open his presents, and you noticed they have given him a _ton_. You had always appreciated how they often treated Kanga like he was their family, even though there was a part of you that still blamed Charles for James’ disappearance.

After the last present was opened, Kanga looked up at you. He pointed out everything he’d gotten, and after thanking everybody several times, that’s when Charles looked at you.

“We’ve saved the best for last,” he told you. That’s when you heard the voice.

“You’re such a sight for sore eyes, honey,” came the voice, and you felt your breath hitch. You’d remember that voice for the rest of your life -- you didn’t even have to look up to know who the owner was.

You were almost afraid to hope.

“This is a trick,” you felt the tears start to fall from your eyes. “It’s gotta be. James is gone. He’s been gone for three-and-a-half years. He isn’t coming back.”

Your eyes are closed; you don’t want to see this imposter. You know that James is gone, he isn’t coming back, and you know that Kanga was robbed from having the dad that he deserved.

You felt a hand cup your cheek. It’s rough, and calloused, and feels so good against your skin. You recognized the feel of his skin; it was the same skin that’d caressed your body over the years. The same skin that you had kissed, the same skin that you had held throughout several nights and traumatic experiences. You had longed to feel him again.

Could this be too good to be true?

“Open your eyes, sweetheart,” he says to you, his voice just a whisper. That’s when you do so.

“It’s you,” you gasp. “It’s you.”

His hair is still long, his eyes are still the beautiful brown that he shares with his son. The same brown you’ve been looking into for the last three years but, somehow, was always missing.

“Hey, honey,” his voice is soft as he watches you.

“I took good care of him,” you whisper, the tears falling from your eyes. “He’s wanted to meet you for so long.”

“Kanga, baby,” you say, looking at your son. His eyes are wide, filled with curiosity as he looks at you. “Come over here, sweetheart.”

Kanga’s never been one to be shy, but he looks timid as he watches you and James embrace. He watches you closely.

“Hey buddy,” James smiled, and _God_ , you never thought you’d ever be able to see his beautiful smile ever again. “I’m your daddy.”

Kanga looks to you for assurance, like this isn’t a joke. You smile at him.

“This is him, baby.”

“And I’m never leaving again,” James promises him as he lifts Kanga into his arms. Turning around to nuzzle you, he wraps his other arm around your waist, and he kisses you softly. “I’m home for good. I promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you like my writing, please consider [buying me a coffee](http://ko-fi.com/gabby227/). 
> 
> YOu can find me on tumblr [here](http://oneshotsbygabby.tumblr.com/). I take requests.


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